Manafort had his own people in every Ukrainian ministry - investigation

Such conclusions were made by Franklin Foer, a staff writer at The Atlantic, according to hromadske.ua

His article reveals still unknown things from the biography of the U.S. political consultant.

Foer notes that Manafort developed a highly personal relationship with disgraced ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. They often played tennis and visited a bathhouse. Manafort got Yanukovych to wear the same suits as he did and to comb the hair backwards as he does.

"Manafort taught him how to smile and how to do small talk. And he did it all quietly, from a back seat. He did it very elegantly," Foer wrote.

At the same time, the journalist notes that Manafort has deeply penetrated into the Ukrainian political system. "Paul has a whole separate shadow government structure… In every ministry, he has a guy," Foer said.

Foer said that Oleh Voloshyn, a former spokesman in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, told him that Yanukovych had listened only to Manafort, while the arguments of government officials had been ignored.

The journalist also mentions that Manafort received huge amounts of money from Yanukovych - more than ever before in his life. The services of the political consultant were often paid, though reluctantly, from the pockets of Ukrainian oligarchs loyal to Yanukovych, the U.S. journalist wrote.

In addition, according to Foer, after the Revolution of Dignity and return to the United States, Manafort began medical treatment at a psychiatric clinic in Arizona due to personal problems. One of his daughters even admitted that at that time her father was on the brink of suicide.

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